It’s finally warm outside! You open the windows and let fresh air circulate throughout your home.  At first it feels exhilarating.  You take a deep breath and revel in the sweet aroma of springtime.  But now, a few hours later, you feel hot and sweaty.  So, what now? You do what most people do at this point — turn on your AC!!

Fast forward a couple of hours later:  you still feel hot and sweaty and now, you’re also feeling anxious and irritable.  It’s dawned on you that there’s something terribly wrong!  Your heart sinks because you realize that your AC is broken, right at the start of the air conditioning season.

Take it from the Coop! It sounds a little dramatic but every year around this time, our phone rings off the hook with calls from homeowners throughout Bucks County and the surrounding areas with similar scenarios.  They turn on their AC the first hot day of the year, realize it’s broken, and their anxiety level starts climbing.  You needn’t panic!!  Here are a few things you can do to fix the issue or at least help assess the situation so an HVAC professional can get your AC working again swiftly.

  1. Examine your thermostat: make sure the mode is set to “cool” and the temperature is set below the room temperature. Hopefully, it’s one of these simple things that you can fix immediately.  If not, you’ll need to dig a little deeper…
  2. Check the breaker to your HVAC system to ensure it hasn’t been tripped. If that’s the culprit, just reset the breaker.  If it keeps tripping, there’s another underlying issue that needs to be addressed in order to get your AC up and running.
  3. Check your air filter. You’d be amazed at how much havoc a dirty air filter can cause.  Replace or clean it, if needed.
  4. Inspect your air vents to ensure they’re open, clean, and unobstructed by rugs or furniture. Wipe with a damp towel if they’re dusty.
  5. Examine your indoor equipment for signs of water on or surrounding your equipment. Your air conditioner usually drains about 10 gallons of moisture in a 24 hour period, so if you get a clog in your condensate drain, for example, the result could be very damaging to your home – particularly if you don’t notice it right away.
  6. Next, check your outdoor equipment for signs of pooling water or ice forming on the equipment, piping, or connections.

Once you’ve identified an issue, or if you can’t find anything glaringly wrong but your air conditioner still isn’t working properly, your next step is to call a professional heating and cooling company, like Cooper Mechanical, that will assess the situation and repair your equipment.  If you found ice on the indoor or outdoor equipment, turn off the system and let everything thaw before the technician arrives so that a complete diagnosis can be made.

Sometimes, no matter how skilled the service technician is, the equipment can’t be fixed due to its age and availability of replacement parts or the extent of the issue.  When that occurs, let a professional contractor, like Cooper Mechanical, help you select the best AC replacement for your home.  Our team of installers are trained to perform all types of AC installations meticulously and efficiently, regardless of the complexity.

Here’s one more recommendation that may save you lots of time and money.  Be sure to sign-up for yearly preventative maintenance.  It really is the best way to make sure your AC is ready to perform when you need it the most.  A service technician will thoroughly examine your air conditioning system inside and outside, clean and tune-up the system, and if there are any issues, get them resolved quickly, with minimum discomfort to you.  Cooper Mechanical is there for you when you need us!  We can be reached at 610-228-4405.  24/7 for emergencies.